les martyrs recording

"Simply put, the performance of American tenor Michael Spyres as Polyeucte is a marvel. His voice is difficult to classify except as an instrument of virtually boundless aptitude. In this performance of Les Martyrs, the voice is ideal for a rôle created by Gilbert Duprez... In Act One, Spyres delivers a rugged ‘Que l'onde salutaire,’ the voice glowing with a golden sheen. ‘Dieu puissant qui voit mon zèle’ in the Act Two finale finds him on roof-raising form, his singing taking on increasingly heroic dimensions as the character’s fortunes become ever more imperiled. Spyres’s performance reaches its zenith in Polyeucte’s scene in Act Three, beginning with a composed account of the aria ‘Mon seul trésor, mon bien suprême’ in which the emotional temperature gradually rises to the boiling point. The dramatic agitation explodes in the cabaletta ‘Oui, j'rai dans leurs temples,’ a cousin of Arnold’s ‘Amis, amis, secondez ma vengeance’ in Rossini’s Guillaume Tell and ‘Di quella pira l’orrenda foco’ in Verdi’s Il trovatore. Here, Spyres’s incendiary singing ignites the sentimental kindling of the music, and the formidably secure E5 that he unleashes thrillingly suggests the character’s—but not the singer’s—desperation. In Act Four, the tenor’s subtle voicing of ‘Rêve délicieux dont mon âme est émue’ is followed by an extraordinarily telling articulation of ‘Qu'importe ma vie sauvée ou ravie.’ Dramatically, Spyres encapsulates the essence of Polyeucte’s nature with his sweetly enraptured elocution of ‘La foi sainte brille à tes yeux!’ As portrayed by this incredibly gifted young singer, Polyeucte faces death with the steely resolve of Radamès in Aida and the soaring vocal refinement of Arturo in I puritani. Surveying the history of recorded singing from its infancy, encompassing the work of artists as masterful as Miguel Fleta and Ivan Kozlovsky, there is no finer example of bel canto tenor singing on disc than Spyres’s Polyeucte."- Joseph Newsome- www.voix-des-arts.com/

"The role of Polyeucte requires a tenor who can sustain the heroic tone over the length of the opera, but also can provide brilliance and flexibility. Michael Spyres has some considerable experience in this repertoire, as he showed with his performances last year with ENO ofBenvenuto Cellini (see my review), Berlioz's flawed but brilliant work which was aimed firmly at the Paris Opera two years before the premiere of Les Martyrs. Michael Spyres sings with burnished tone, giving us fine nobility of phrasing and some finely flexible decorative passages. In the relative calm (!) of the recording studio, he was also able to turn out some really fine top notes, showing an upward extension which has an admirable combination of brilliance and freedom. Dramatically he brings strong commitment to the role, making it believable and certainly a lot more than just a string of arias and ensembles."- Robert Hugill - www.planethugill.com

"Michael Spyres is superb as Polyeucte, exhibiting infinite stamina, an incredibly strong chest register and an amazing top — demonstrated par excellence in the Act 3 ‘Oui, j'irai dans leurs temples!’, where his final top E pings electrifyingly before settling with consummate control down an octave; here Spyres’ elasticity and suave sound impeccably, and terrifyingly, capture the mesmerising self-belief of the zealous martyr-to-be. But, the tenor shows his awareness of the full range of bel canto gestures — not merely its show-stopping audacity — and there is subtlety and a perfectly spun pianissimo in the preceding ‘Mon seul trésor, mon bien supreme’. - Claire Seymour - www.operatoday.com

"The title-role is taken by the American tenor Michael Spyres, who commands absolute attention from his very first phrase... he packs a voice with real heroic ring and tremendous facility in the stratosphere, capping his act three aria ‘Mon seul trésor’ with a stupendous high E as Polyeucte vows to commit a spectacular act of public blasphemy which will condemn him to certain death." - Katherine Cooper - www.prestoclassical.co.uk

The Polyeucte of Michael Spyres is remarkable. The role has one foot in bel canto and one in almost-heroic Meyerbeer and Verdi, and Spyres’ huge range (up to an E-natural at the close of his third-act aria, which may or may not have been written by the composer), clarion top, appealing tone, styles both exclamatory and tender are ideal for the part." -Robert Levine -www.classicstoday.com

"Donizetti’s rewrite made things even tougher for the tenor, based on the abilities of Gilbert Duprez to reach a high C sharp from the chest rather than employing head voice. Michael Spyres makes it sound easy. The American tenor, who so impressed in the title role in English National Opera’s Benvenuto Cellini, excels here, pinging out thrilling top notes, including a high E natural in the cabaletta “Oui, j’irai dans leurs temples!” as Polyeucte resolves to stand by his friend Néarque and share his fate. Spyres gives a towering interpretation and Glyndebourne would be canny to book him should they wish to revivePoliuto in the near future." - Mark Pullinger - beckmessersquill.com

"[Spyres is] noble and radiant of tenor timbre, unfailingly both strong and sensitive in his delivery of the text." -www.opera.co.uk